[Buddy Spencer]

Absolutely right. No guarantees. Ever. When we graduated from college there were none then (1977) and there will never be any down the road. But if we show a demand for service/education/job opportunities, we can create a better opportunity to find jobs along the way. I think many people fail to realize that once we entered an international war that no one wanted but a very elite few who would profit from it, we hit a downward spiral that injured our economy to an historic low. To imagine a job that actually pays a wage equal to the previous marketplace is simply a daydream now. It was and still is an huge environmental shock to our collective ecosystem that has since spread globally. Which is exactly why opening the doors to higher education for all citizens is even more important than ever before. Education is the key to rebuilding a system that functions well enough to lift up the whole. There has never been a better time to solicit more participation in the economy, and that means lowering debts (no more college loans) and raising opportunities (bettering education). The marketplace of the future depends on the trickle UP effect of smarter, more prepared individuals to meet the demands of a faster, more advanced technological world that has not yet fully emerged. The more educated our workforce, the better we are prepared to handle the job of raising up the economy.

For the record, I agree that government waste is a big part of our problems. I also feel that flushing the baby out with the bath water is not a smart way to do business. Too many foundations of sound economic strength will be eroded by irresponsible actions. And – government is not alone in the responsibility for the downward turn. The age old factor of greed has further marred the free capitalist image both here and around the world. This is directly the result of a small list of individuals who have found deep-rooted avenues into government and corporate pockets. Like any invasive species in a community, they must be rooted out. But we need the government regulated laws to help do that. We need more pressure on legislators to do that. Not anarchy.

There’s no free lunch! AND No quick fix! Education is an investment, plain and simple. If the United States of America wants a better economy and better opportunities than we already have (which is ten times better than any place on the planet), then we (collectively and thus government) must invest in education. Better educated people placing strategic demands on a dysfunctional system will turn the tide toward a more vibrant economy, which is by fact-checked accounts, already moving forward. So much has been accomplished in just 8 years that we have begun to rebuild even now. And our industry has been the recipient of many projects that have not only helped to rebuild our infrastructure, but have done it in more creative and effective ways than ever before. We are really lucky to be in a profession that can be part of the solution and not caught up in nay-saying our Country. We are already the greatest country in the world. We just have to get more people involved in it. Too many are focused on the wrong issues. We don’t need tantrums. We need solutions. 

[Buddy Spencer]

So many points have been missed that it’s hard to know where to start. For those who feel compelled to close our eyes to the global community and fall back to a protectionist mentality, we may as well surrender to ISIS.
For those who are ready to move on with life and provide all the progressive opportunities we can offer to our citizens, should college be a free ticket to the future? Should all U. S. Citizens have adequate health care? Should our fellow citizen descendants of slaves be helped to a better standard of living (in the land of the free)? Should women be given equal pay for equal work?

There are other countries that support raising their citizens (and children) to a higher level. Should we not offer better opportunities for all of us?

I graduated in landscape architecture from the University of Georgia in 1977 on the G.I. Bill. I was not what you would call a competitive student. But that degree did pave the way for some excellent work experiences that also allowed me to live a full and productive life. It also provided opportunity to serve and mentor others. To that end, I feel there are plenty of ways that people can “earn” their education and raise their quality of life in this country.
Military service , civil service, peace corps, government internships, and local mentoring programs are available to all right now. If those were also ways to earn credits for college tuition, it would be a great way to “pay it forward” in service to others which I dare say that the next generation of citizens would do well to learn.
Whether mandatory or volunteer, service to our country teaches us things we can’t learn in the classroom.
One last thing, we are part of a larger, very complex ecosystem that cannot sustain itself in a vacuum. Every relationship has a symbiotic responsibility to provide the best possible opportunity for future generations. We are not here to play God. We are here to help each other. If we selectively pick and choose the winners by some list of preselected criteria, we will miss so many great and amazingly talented individuals. Life would just be too dull to be enjoyed.
I vote for progress and I hope we can all connect in ways that uplift our lives in meaningful relationships.

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